take care of you .
Deep down, Tara yearned for that scarce and transient luxury. She couldn’t understand why. The inherent promise of being with someone, belonging to someone, having a family to cling to, was akin to being thrown a lifeline as she clawed and kicked and tried to stay afloat amid the storm tossed seas of unbearable loneliness.
Too exhausted to try to converse further, Tara nodded her assent to his words and closed her eyes, seeking the sweet solace of dreams.
* * *
Adrian summoned the family physician to his study for a private interview.
The thin, graying man watched his patron with glittering eyes that revealed his intelligence. “Your note said you had something to discuss regarding the young miss of a most serious nature.” He took the chair opposite Adrian’s desk and folded his hands on his lap, waiting patiently for Adrian to explain his dire message.
“Do you believe she is well enough to be married before the week is out?”
“Dear me.” The doctor’s hands gripped the chair arms.
As Dr. Magnus stared at him with disbelief, Adrian continued in a defensive tone, “Under the circumstances, I think it is only proper we are wed as soon as possible.”
The doctor sat for a long moment, his quick mind turning over the situation carefully before he advised his patron. He nibbled on his upper lip, sucked in both lips, rolling them before replying, “How fortunate for you that this woman washed up on shore, with Burke pressing a suit with his daughter.”
Adrian’s brow furrowed in agitation. His forefingers were arched together as he sat with his elbows propped on the desk before him. “I trust you will remain discreet.”
“Aye. Only take care in what you do. This young woman may fit nicely into your scheme and become a very proper Lady Dillon for you. You are doing the honorable thing by taking her into your care in the guise of marriage. There are other lords who wouldn’t presume to be noble about their designs on such a comely waif who fell into their lap with no memory of where she came from. If she seems pleased with the arrangement, you have gained a wife and she has gained a comfortable situation. Then again, she may wake up one morning and recall she has a husband and babes elsewhere then where will that leave you, my lord Dillon?”
“She is unmarried.”
“You mean you are hoping that is the case.” Magnus supplied. “Adrian, have you entertained any of the possibilities regarding her situation? She may be a half-wit. She may have been someone’s doxy on that ship or she could be an indenture on her way to the Indies. She could have the pox, for all you know.”
“No.” Adrian shook his head, confident in his assessment of Tara. She was no half-wit or strumpet bound for the plantations. She was the lost fey he’d been cautioned about years ago. And she was helpless, confused in her changeling state. She needed him to take her into his protection just as much as he needed her to elude Burke’s snare.
“If you persist in this mad scheme, and I’m assuming you will, you must be aware that sooner or later, she will realize she is not the person you have made her out to be. She may recover her memory before you are wed, expose your scheme to all, and then Burke will jump on you before you have time to regroup.”
Brushing aside the old man’s warning, Adrian replied, “I want you to procure a special license for me from the magistrate. Considering the circumstances, I should think it would be fairly easy. She is now an orphan, and has been engaged to me for the past eight months, since we were in Italy. That would make me nearly her legal guardian, would it not? Her father was escorting her here for our wedding when disaster took him away from us. She has no one else save me.”
“I say, you do have the advantage in that respect. You are the only person who claims to know her, to be able to identify her. Unless someone appears to claim her
Deep down, Tara yearned for that scarce and transient luxury. She couldn’t understand why. The inherent promise of being with someone, belonging to someone, having a family to cling to, was akin to being thrown a lifeline as she clawed and kicked and tried to stay afloat amid the storm tossed seas of unbearable loneliness.
Too exhausted to try to converse further, Tara nodded her assent to his words and closed her eyes, seeking the sweet solace of dreams.
* * *
Adrian summoned the family physician to his study for a private interview.
The thin, graying man watched his patron with glittering eyes that revealed his intelligence. “Your note said you had something to discuss regarding the young miss of a most serious nature.” He took the chair opposite Adrian’s desk and folded his hands on his lap, waiting patiently for Adrian to explain his dire message.
“Do you believe she is well enough to be married before the week is out?”
“Dear me.” The doctor’s hands gripped the chair arms.
As Dr. Magnus stared at him with disbelief, Adrian continued in a defensive tone, “Under the circumstances, I think it is only proper we are wed as soon as possible.”
The doctor sat for a long moment, his quick mind turning over the situation carefully before he advised his patron. He nibbled on his upper lip, sucked in both lips, rolling them before replying, “How fortunate for you that this woman washed up on shore, with Burke pressing a suit with his daughter.”
Adrian’s brow furrowed in agitation. His forefingers were arched together as he sat with his elbows propped on the desk before him. “I trust you will remain discreet.”
“Aye. Only take care in what you do. This young woman may fit nicely into your scheme and become a very proper Lady Dillon for you. You are doing the honorable thing by taking her into your care in the guise of marriage. There are other lords who wouldn’t presume to be noble about their designs on such a comely waif who fell into their lap with no memory of where she came from. If she seems pleased with the arrangement, you have gained a wife and she has gained a comfortable situation. Then again, she may wake up one morning and recall she has a husband and babes elsewhere then where will that leave you, my lord Dillon?”
“She is unmarried.”
“You mean you are hoping that is the case.” Magnus supplied. “Adrian, have you entertained any of the possibilities regarding her situation? She may be a half-wit. She may have been someone’s doxy on that ship or she could be an indenture on her way to the Indies. She could have the pox, for all you know.”
“No.” Adrian shook his head, confident in his assessment of Tara. She was no half-wit or strumpet bound for the plantations. She was the lost fey he’d been cautioned about years ago. And she was helpless, confused in her changeling state. She needed him to take her into his protection just as much as he needed her to elude Burke’s snare.
“If you persist in this mad scheme, and I’m assuming you will, you must be aware that sooner or later, she will realize she is not the person you have made her out to be. She may recover her memory before you are wed, expose your scheme to all, and then Burke will jump on you before you have time to regroup.”
Brushing aside the old man’s warning, Adrian replied, “I want you to procure a special license for me from the magistrate. Considering the circumstances, I should think it would be fairly easy. She is now an orphan, and has been engaged to me for the past eight months, since we were in Italy. That would make me nearly her legal guardian, would it not? Her father was escorting her here for our wedding when disaster took him away from us. She has no one else save me.”
“I say, you do have the advantage in that respect. You are the only person who claims to know her, to be able to identify her. Unless someone appears to claim her
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